After the disappointment of not being able to hit up any local eats in Hilo (because they were closed), we made it a point to visit Uweke’s in Kona. After a short walk from the pier, it only brought us closer to the lineup out the door. It came as no surprise as the place serves up large portions of quality eats for a low price. Case-in-point, they were butchering 2 large tuna for poke as we were waiting. All the waiting in line was not all for naught as it gave us time to choose our sides from the display case at the counter.

But before we could think about our mains, we got an order of the Da Kanaka Ahi Tuna Poke as well as their Strawberry Lemonade in a jar. Prepared in large irregular chunks, the tuna was texturally a delight. It was soft and buttery while still meaty and supremely fresh. It was dressed in just enough soy for effect while letting the tuna stand on its own. As for the lemonade, it was also very good where it tasted like its namesake while being only purposefully sweet. Since it was kept ice cold, it was extra enjoyable as the weather in Hawaii was unusually hot and humid.

For the main event, we got the Luani Shrimp Bowl with kim chee cucumber and brown rice. These large whole in-the-shell-shrimp were meaty and super flavourful with the essence and sweetness of shrimp. It was topped with an inordinate amount of mayo and sauce, but that went well with the firm brown rice. Although crunchy and fresh, the cucumbers were a bit under seasoned. We also got the Teriyaki Chicken with white rice and wakame salad. Succulent and well-charred, the chicken was rather sweet from the marinade. It went well with the chewy and fluffy rice though. Even though we only got 3 items (one of them small), it was enough for all 4 of us. Yes, there were generous portions of tasty and fresh food. Can't better than that.

The Good:- Inexpensive- Large portions- Fresh and tasty

The Bad:- You gotta wait in the lineup and for the food to be prepared- The things we tried were pretty sweet